Olympic athlete dies days after being set alight by ex-boyfriend

Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has died days after being doused in petrol and set on fireplace by a former boyfriend.

The 33-year-old Ugandan marathon runner, who competed within the latest Paris Olympics, had suffered intensive burns after Sunday’s assault.

The authorities in north-west Kenya, the place Cheptegei lived and educated, mentioned she was focused after returning residence from church together with her two daughters.

Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, mentioned that he had misplaced a “very supportive” daughter. Fellow Ugandan athlete James Kirwa instructed the BBC about her generosity and the way she had helped out different runners financially.

A report filed by a neighborhood administrator alleged the athlete and her ex-partner had been wrangling over a chunk of land. Police say an investigation is underneath means.

Cheptegei, from a area simply throughout the border in Uganda, is alleged to have purchased a plot in Trans Nzoia county and constructed a home to be close to Kenya’s elite athletics coaching centres.

Assaults on ladies have develop into a significant concern in Kenya. In 2022 not less than 34% of girls mentioned they’d skilled bodily violence, in keeping with a nationwide survey.

“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the pressing must fight gender-based violence, which has more and more affected even elite sports activities,” Kenya’s Sports activities Minister Kipchumba Murkomen mentioned.

Completely different organisations inside the UN have additionally spoken out on the problem.

“We be a part of the UN Inhabitants Fund and UN Ladies in strongly condemning [Cheptegei’s} violent murder,” spokesperson for the UN secretary-general Stephane Dujarric is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

Speaking to journalists outside the hospital where she had been treated, Mr Cheptegei asked the Kenyan government to ensure justice was done after the death of his daughter.

“We have lost our breadwinner,” he added and wondered how her two young children would “proceed with their education”.

Dr Kimani Mbugua, a consultant at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, told local media that the staff did all they could for her but the athlete “had a severe percentage of burns, which unfortunately led to multi-organ failure, which ultimately led to her passing this morning at 05:30 [02:30 GMT]”.

Kirwa, who usually educated with Cheptegei and had visited her in hospital, instructed the BBC she “was a really affable particular person. [She] helped us all even financially and he or she introduced me coaching sneakers when she got here again from the Olympics. She was like an older sister to me”.

Uganda’s athletics federation mentioned in a publish on X: “We’re deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei early this morning who tragically fell sufferer to home violence. As a federation, we condemn such acts and name for justice. Could her soul relaxation In Peace.”

“That is heart-breaking. Much more heart-breaking that it is not the primary time the athletics group has misplaced such an unbelievable feminine athlete to home violence,” British Olympian runner Eilish McColgan wrote on X.

Cheptegei’s former boyfriend was additionally admitted to the hospital in Eldoret – however with much less extreme burns. He’s nonetheless in intensive care however his situation was “bettering and steady”, Moi hospital’s Dr Owen Menach mentioned.

Earlier, native police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom was quoted by native media as saying: “The couple had been heard quarrelling outdoors their home. Throughout the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the lady earlier than burning her.”

“This was a cowardly and mindless act that has led to the lack of an important athlete. Her legacy will proceed to endure,” the pinnacle of Uganda’s Olympic committee Donald Rukare mentioned on X.

Speaking to reporters earlier within the week, her father mentioned that he prayed “for justice for my daughter”, including that he had by no means seen such an inhumane act in his life.

Uganda’s Sports activities Minister Peter Ogwang mentioned preparations had been being made to move Cheptegei’s physique again to Uganda for burial.

“We mourn with the household as a rustic,” he instructed the BBC World Service’s Newshour programme.

He added that Cheptegei had needed to speak to him once they had been on the Olympics collectively.

“She [said she] had a household drawback.”

Cheptegei completed forty fourth within the marathon on the latest Paris Olympics.

She additionally received gold on the World Mountain and Path Operating Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022.

Her demise comes after the killings of fellow East African athletes Agnes Tirop in 2021 and Damaris Mutua the next 12 months, with their companions recognized as the primary suspects in each instances by the authorities.

Tirop’s husband is presently going through homicide expenses, which he denies, whereas a hunt for Mutua’s boyfriend continues.

“As we speak has been a tragic second for me. It has been a tragic second for athletes as a result of it actually reminded us [of] the day that Agnes was murdered,” Kenyan athlete Joan Chelimo instructed the BBC.

She is concerned in Tirop’s Angels, an organisation she mentioned was arrange as a “wake-up name” after Tirop’s homicide to deal with gender-based violence.

“We are saying we have to unite collectively as athletes and simply attempt to increase consciousness, create a spot the place ladies can simply come and converse up. However it’s nonetheless on the rise.”

Cheptegei’s good friend Milcah Chemos-Cheywa, a Kenyan athlete who together with her in Paris, echoed these emotions.

“I can say we’re nonetheless in shock, and we’re in ache, particularly as athletes, and this factor taking place in Kenya,” she instructed the Reuters information company. “We keep in mind the case of Agnes Tirop, now it has come to Rebecca, so we aren’t pleased.’’